Repercussions of Hamilton becoming an Angel
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Repercussions of Hamilton becoming an Angel
Matt Gelb, Inquirer Staff Writer
Sure, the Phillies were intrigued by Josh Hamilton. But the sense from front office officials was his price would never sink to a level with which they were comfortable. That sentiment was vindicated Thursday when the Los Angeles Angels reportedly agreed to a five-year, $125 million contract with Hamilton.
The aftershocks will rattle throughout baseball, and Philadelphia is included. The top corner outfielder is off the market; Nick Swisher and Cody Ross could soon follow. The Phillies are wary of offering more than three guaranteed years to any player above 30. Both Swisher and Ross are fits on paper, but not yet in reality.
Now, with Texas scorned by Hamilton and needing some sort of offensive addition, they could enter the market for Swisher or Ross. That would drive their prices up. They could also pursue first baseman Adam LaRoche, formerly of the Nationals, to fill a hole.
The Angels have a surplus of offensive pieces, which could lead to a trade of Peter Bourjos or Mark Trumbo. The timing is not great for the Phillies, who have long coveted Bourjos and may have had him valued above Ben Revere. ESPN.com reported Trumbo will not be made available in trade talks.
Even if there was a possible match there, the Phllies have already exercised almost all of their trade chips. Catcher Sebastian Valle is one remaining piece. There is some pitching depth, but it is slimmer after Vance Worley and Trevor May were dealt.
If the Rangers bid for Swisher or Ross, that could drive Ruben Amaro Jr. to improve his club through pitching additions because the offensive market is prohibitive. The GM has said he wants a "low-risk, high-reward" pitcher to be his fifth starter. There are better options out there and Amaro has money to spend.
Ryan Dempster is off the board after signing a two-year, $26.5 million contract with Boston. Anibal Sanchez, Kyle Lohse, Edwin Jackson and Shaun Marcum are the top available starters.
Hamilton was the white whale, the one "difference-maker" on the market, as Ruben Amaro Jr. said. But with so much money tied into long-term contracts with players older than 30, the Phillies were merely gazing this time around.
Have a question? Send it to Matt Gelb's Mailbag.
- "almost no chance to make the playoffs now" You do know that when they got healthy the 2nd half they played playoff record baseball? LOL throw in the towel in December, boy you must be fun to be around
— DogBiscuitthedope - How do you people know Hamilton just didn't want to come here for any amount of money?— cloudkitt
- Phillies don't need power. They have three pitchers that can pitch 2-3 run ballgames. You can win it all with pitching and defense.— Drew777
- You guys are not looking at the big picture. Revere is a very good young defensive player. Every run you prevent is as valable as a run you score. He is no risk to relapse into drugs and leave the Phillies in terrible shape, like Hamilton. It was smart not to sign Hamilton. I think Ross, or Hairston will be they guy now, not an everyday high dollar guy, a guy who can split time and hit right handed is fine for the last OF spot. They should spend the $$ left in the budget on a good starter and reliever, or a guy who can do both...like Brett Myers? I would invite Moyer to camp, too. Let's see him pursue 300 wins, he is a hometown guy, and as a 5th starter/pitching coach type...why not?— Paul SoTX
- Hairston is a good fit. He's the type of never get on base outmaker that Amaro and Manuel covet. Ross is pretty bat but Hairston is a lifetime .300 OBP guy which puts him in the 1st percentile i.e. among the elite in out-making efficiency at the plate. — jtj06
- Glad he signed there and Amaro didnt give ANOTHER stupid contract. If they were willing to pay over 20 million for Hamilton they can surely get Swisher.— twpman
- I agree with defense. SIgn one or two remaining FA pitchers and buildup the middle of the defense. Regardless if you outscore your opponent by 1 run or 10 runs, you still only get 1 win.— penncrow19
Not signing Josh Hamilton is NOT the death knell for this team. C'mon people, smartin' up. They've already improved with their first two moves and they're not done. As said before, the fortunes of this team lie with three players: Utley, Howard, and Doc. You're either winning or losing with them whether you like it or not.— Sam Crow- Agreed, don't mind a young #5 starter however I'm hopng we get a quality veteran setup man. — DogBiscuitthedope
- With Hamilton gone, I hope Ruben doesn't make a stupid move like signing Cody Ross or Nick Swisher.
Ruf - Revere - Brown, is fine by me.
Spend the money on pitching.— the_anti_negadelphian - That's what I'm thinking. Get a good 8th inning guy. Get one or two starting pitchers. Ride your pitching to the trade deadline. Give the young guys a chance to hit without being yanked all over the place. — s
- The reason the Phillies have no money is because the starting pitchers, Howard and Rollins have a big chunk of the money tied up. — The Marco Islander
- I agree except that Rollins isn't that expensive at 11 million. It's one reason I thought trading Lee made sense. Halladay should be gone after 2013 but you wait -- they'll extend him if he has a good year even if there are warning signs of age all over the place.
Since they've decided to stick with pitching you have to hope they can ride it. The alternative is to give up. As a fan, I just can't give up in December.
— s - Albert, Ryan Madison, Big Joe, Josh and others in a colander year. Now tHats one smart G.M.— Cactusclarke
- Amaro dropped the ball on this one. With the lineup as currently constructed, they are not better than either the Nationals or Braves, nor are they better than the Giants or Dodgers. If the Phillies aren't willing to spend the money in free agency, they need to start trading veterans now to restock the farm system. There is no way in Hades this team wins another title, and they most likely won't be a playoff team either. That's just the facts of the situation. I was hoping Amaro was planning to get one more run out of this squad by adding a difference maker like Hamilton, but I was wrong. Now he needs to begin building for the next run with players who aren't currently in the league yet. I have really bad feeling, though, that he is going to try to do what most others have failed at, patch holes with cheap additions who are decent players but never great. That means a lot of third place finishes and a team going nowhere.— Hemingway
